•2,36 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1885. 



the multitude by^ the last new thing in circum- 

 fereuoes. These charming old flowers live retired, 

 liki- meek worth " left to herself unheard of 

 and uuknown." For such the popular voice is not 

 raised. They Id 10m only for a little cUn of enthu. 

 siasss, wh 1 : tie prodigious hybrids of the florist 

 me -t with geneial acclamation. 



The National Rose Society might do well to 

 disc.iiirage the aims of those floriets who denatur- 

 al.ze the ruse. No artistic results are produced by 

 forcing ihe rose to assume the guise of the camellia 

 or pe ny, or to make it emulative of the exuberant 

 Totundiy of a savoy cabbage To combine the 

 tiuer forms of the various types is the true ideal 

 d' velopment, not to vie with the artificial flower 

 manui.ictuiei, and to follow after ugly eccentricity. 

 It is ii.itaiple that the old roses more than held 

 t e r owu in the contest though some of the 

 best were ill represented. Among these were " La 

 France" and " Mar(5chal Niel." Yet, these have 

 never been exelled, nor the attar scent of " Charles 

 Lefebvre," nor the beauty of form and colour of 

 many an old rose now temper rily dethroned. A 

 really good new rose that may compete with old 

 favourioes becomes yearly of greater rarity. While 

 it is in the interests of cultivation to recognize 

 new varieties, it is an un-ound policy to reward 

 co.irsp aud siaring prodigies. — Saturday Review. 



CETLON TEA. 



Of lute years Ceylou tea has attracted .so much atten- 

 tion and the competition at the Mincing-laue sales for 

 specially f.ivoured brands has been so keen, that the eye 

 of tlie capiialist, as well as that of the struggling planter, 

 hasbeen directed to Ceylon with a view of obtaii.ing a 

 profitable investment. To all such, as well as to those 

 interested iu the production and manufactm-e of tea, 

 we would r. -commend the careful perusal of a little 

 pamphlet on Oeylon tea published by A. M. & J. 

 Ferguson, Colombo, and which may be obtained of 

 M' ssrs. J. Haddon, Bouverie-street, E. 0. The book 

 coutai'is v.iluable information respecting most suitable 

 soil, the selection of seed, the iirepiration of the laud, 

 aud the cost of same ; also details respecting the enor- 

 mous yield obtaiued on certain estates, amounting to 

 as much as SOO lbs. or 1,000 lbs. of made tea per acre. 

 But side by .side with this we find words of warning to 

 the young and inexperienced, and a caution to those 

 new to the island, which will be doubtless fully appreci- 

 ated by all who may be thinking of going to Ceylon 

 with a view of trying their fortunes. The healthiness 

 of the tea gardens on the Ceylon bills at an elevation 

 of 4,000 to 5,000 feet is proverbial, aud much in 

 favour of the young planter as oi^posed to Assam. 

 Special attention appears to be paid to the process of 

 prepaiing the tea-leaf for market — the ferineutation of 

 the leaf, withering, and firing beini; carried on with 

 every regard to scientific accuracy an. 1 with the aid of 

 the moet improved machinery. At the present time 

 there is a demand for experienced men who can 

 superintend the manufacture, aud take charge of 

 depots on the main roads where the green leaf is 

 purchased from neighbouring planters day by day; for 

 it is an advantage that tea should be made on a 

 large scale — tlie various qualities being sorted out, as 

 soon as received, for special subsequent treatment. — 

 Time and space prevent us from going more fully into 

 a review of this little pamphlet, but to all those who 

 may think of embarking in the Oeylon tea trade, either 

 as planters or merchants, we would recommend its 

 perusal. — Grocer, June 20th. 



the most satisfactory results. This remedy, as some of 

 our readers may remember, consists in the administration 

 of the Chanteaud granules of sulphate of strychnine Sini 

 hifosci/amine, according to the dosimetric method. 



The granules contain l-130th of a grain of active 

 substance in each case. They were given one of each 

 kind, together, every quarter-of-an-bour, up to 8 or 9, 

 .when the nausea and sickness usually vanished, and 

 generally gave way to a little refreshing sleep. 



Dr. Embleton had supplied himself with the Chant- 

 eaud granules simply for his own use, in case he 

 should require them for himself on the voyage. The 

 supply was therefore very limited ; but small as it 

 was, it enabled him to treat no less than seven severe 

 cases with the most satisfactory results. The cases 

 were seen by the medical man of the vessel, the 

 " Trojan," and reported by him (Dr. Lory Marsh) 

 in the Ciipe Argus of the 4th of February, and a 

 full account of these interesting observations pub- 

 lished in the following July number of the Joar^ial 

 of Medicine and JJusimctric Therapeutics of London. 



We sliould add that these same medicaments have 

 been often empL>yed in similar cases by Dr. Gesner, 

 between Dieppe and Newhaven, aud several times by 

 Dr. Hurggraeve himself between Ostend and London, 

 at the time of his discovery. — Monthly Magdzine of 

 ritarmacy. 



STRYCHNINE AND HYOSCYAMINE IN 



SEA-SICKNESS. 



In a voyage to Madeira, which he made In the 



mouth of January, 13S2, Dr. D. Embleton, F. r. c. p., 



ete.. of Newcastle-on-Tync, had an opportunity of 



ayp'yiug Dr. Burggraeve's remedy for sea-sickuess with 



INOCULATION IN PLANT LIFE. 

 The decrease now apparent in the virulence of 

 the coffee leaf-disease, and still more the supposed 

 waning of the effect which its attacks exercise on 

 our coffee trees, have given rise to considerable 

 discussion — as we are informed by a home corre- 

 spondent — upon the bearing such facts may have 

 upon a theory of inoculation by use among plants. 

 The basis of such discussion appears to rest upon 

 observations of the long continuance of disease 

 among the potato crcp~. of the United Kingdom, 

 and nntably among those of Ireland. When that 

 disease was most rife, the generality of scientists 

 pronounced it almost impossible that the plant could 

 survive, aud that it was inevitable that for many 

 years at least the cultivation of the favourite tuber 

 would have to be abandoned. Still, the necessity and 

 the force of long-continued custom caused its plant- 

 ing to be persevered with year after year ; each 

 successive season, albeit the disease was still present, 

 witne^sing a diminutiou in the force of its attacks 

 and a more than corresponding decrease in the effect 

 of such attacks on the crop. 



Now, as with the potito, so, it is argued, it may 

 be with coffee. At no previous period of its history 

 perhaps, since Sir Walter Raleigh brought the pre- 

 cioos tuber tiom America, has the cultivation of the 

 potato throughout the United Kingdom been more 

 extended thau at the present time. Although, as 

 we have said, year after year signs of the disease, 

 which was previously so fatal to it, are still to be 

 observed in many widely divergent localities ; yet 

 this in no way interferes with the healthy pro- 

 pagation of the root or with the successful cropping 

 results obtaiued by those who plant it. In Devon- 

 shire, as we learn today from a returned Ceylon 

 planter, during the present seaeon, so abundant is 

 the potato crop, that many acres are not being 

 lifted at all: theie being no profitable market! 

 What has occuired in respect of the disease in the 

 one case therefore our scientists hold may well be 

 expected to follow in another, and there are a good 

 many interested in Ceylon, we learn, who think 

 there is every reason to expect that coffee may 



